8-21-2026 | Have We Put Off the Lord’s Coming?
The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. - 2 Peter 3:9
When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. - Matthew 25:5
One of the quiet dangers in the believer’s life is not always open rebellion… but delayed expectation.
“Delayed expectation is the subtle settling of the heart into this world as though the Lord were not really coming soon.”
Jesus warned about this very thing…. He spoke of the servant who says in his heart… “My lord delayeth his coming.”
That servant did not usually begin with scandalous sin….
It began in the heart…
He stopped living watchfully…
He stopped living like the Master could appear at any moment...
And when watchfulness left… carelessness entered…
When expectation faded… compromise grew.
Could this be one reason we struggle so deeply with sin?
When the coming of the Lord becomes only a doctrine we believe instead of a reality we feel…
Our guard drops…
Prayer becomes lighter…
Conviction becomes quieter…
The world becomes more attractive…
“Sin gains strength where eternity has lost its nearness.”
A heart that truly expects Jesus to come does not want to be found sleeping in sin… feeding the flesh… holding grudges... entertaining lust... living half-committed... or making peace with disobedience.
The thought of seeing Christ purifies us…. It awakens sobriety…. It stirs repentance…. It calls us higher….
“The problem is not always that we have stopped loving God entirely…. Sometimes it is that we have allowed too much distance between our hearts and the reality of His return…. We have “put off” His coming inwardly…. We still say He is coming… but we are no longer living like it.”
When we remember that we will look into the eyes of the One who saved us… we want to live pure... awake... and faithful.